Team news: Chicago Bears | Page 5

How the Eagles deploy their running backs this season was a hotly debated topic within the fantasy football community throughout the summer. D'Andre Swift, Kenny Gainwell, and Rashaad Penny will all have roles, but Swift pretty clearly showed throughout training camp that he is the most talented of the three, and I expect him to get the most touches on Sunday. We'll see.

Jimmy gets it. Kempski also remarked that Swift "caught a lot of passes out of the backfield during training camp practices" while noting that he was working with the wide receivers during Thursday's practice. In a perfect world, Swift would have the pass-catching role while Penny had the early-down and goal-line roles. But we've seen time and time again that Gainwell will work in two-minute drills, which makes the situation in total headache.

Swift can be considered a Flex play in Week 1, but we should probably take a wait-and-see approach with the other two backs in all but the deepest leagues.

The Bears have settled on a backup quarterback for the start of the regular season.

The Bears opted for experience in the No. 2 role. The team released its depth chart for this week on Tuesday and it shows Nathan Peterman behind Josh Fields with Tyson Bagent in the No. 3 role.

As the story said, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said last week that the team had not decided whether Peterman or undrafted rookie Bagent would back up Justin Fields against the Packers. Bagent played well in the preseason and the Bears cut both Peterman and P.J. Walker on their way to setting their first 53-man roster, but re-signed Peterman after making other roster moves.

The Chicago Bears released backup quarterback P.J. Walker on Sunday, the team announced.

Related players: Tyson Bagent, Nathan Peterman, Justin Fields

Walker signed a two-year contract worth $4.15 million in March with over $2 million in guarantees. After three seasons with the Carolina Panthers, Walker was brought in to compete for the backup quarterback job behind Justin Fields. The Bears will now hand that role to undrafted rookie Bagent or veteran Peterman. Bagent, who signed with Chicago after playing for offensive coordinator Luke Getsy's squad at the Senior Bowl, has been the team's strongest backup QB throughout training camp, the story went on to say.

Per Adam Jahns, "I thought D'Onta Foreman would show more throughout camp. Instead, it’s Roschon Johnson, the rookie, who earned headlines with his play."

Related Players: Khalil Herbert

The team at the Athletic listed Roschon Johnson as the RB2, an eventuality that many of us considered from the time he was drafted. Johnson should see a lot of action on a team that runs so often, but his ceiling is very, very low as long as Khalil Herbert is healthy.

Keenan Allen has been the focal receiver in Kellen Moore’s offense during camp. Some of that is the rapport he has with Herbert. But some of it, too, is how Moore is using Allen.

Related Players: Mike Williams, Quentin Johnston, Josh Palmer

It feels like we've been waiting for Keenan Allen to age out of fantasy production for years now, but when he's healthy, he's still an exceptional option in what should continue to be a high-powered offense. Allen missed seven games last season, but with no hiccups through camp, he is a fantastic selection when he slides towards the 5th Round.

The Eagles have given away all the signs throughout training camp where Kenneth Gainwell stands on this roster. He's the back they trust the most in late-game and pressure situations, showcasing that by not playing him in the preseason opener (along with the designated players who weren't going to play).

Philadelphia backed that up by having Gainwell on the first team of 11-on-11s during the joint practice, getting the first snaps before D'Andre Swift spelled him. Swift is the back splitting the reps with Gainwell, as the Eagles line him out wide and use his explosiveness in pass-catching.

Related players: Rashaad Penny

The story went on to say Gainwell is the lead guy, but Swift is the counter punch. They are the 1-2 combination at running back, splitting the bulk of the touches. Swift has had an excellent camp and will be in integral part of the offense, the story went on to say. There was no mention of Penny. We've already reflected this on our depth chart and it's no surprise considering Gainwell had a big role last year even with Miles Sanders on the team.

"And since (Roschon Johnson has) gotten in there, we really love the style. We’re just gonna keep letting that thing compete out where it belongs, and we’ll see where it goes."

Related players: Khalil Herbert, D'Onta Foreman

Fantasy opinions have been all over the place when it comes to Johnson and his potential, while reports so far say Herbert has had a great camp and will be tough to overtake as the RB1. Johnson got a couple reps with the first team in 11/11 and in the two min drill on Monday. Cronin said Bears coaches are impressed with what they've seen to give him a look with the starters. The unnamed coach in the post added about Johnson: "Just the running style. He’s a downhill guy that we’re excited about. He’s got good vision."

Much like his first two seasons, Kenneth Gainwell is the team’s featured running back during the two-minute drill.

Related Players: Rashaad Penny, D'Andre Swift

Though we've tried to make this work in fantasy before, it's very unlikely that Gainwell is going to be used enough to play outside of sneaky DFS Showdown slates. What is likely, is that Swift's role in this offense might be squeezed into a much smaller box than we think it's going to. With a healthy Penny being the early down back, Gainwell handling the two-minute drill, and Jalen Hurts running the ball instead of checking it down, you have to squint to see RB3 production for Swift.

Bears and TE Cole Kmet reached an agreement on a four-year, $50 million extension, including $32.8 million guaranteed and $20 million in new first-year cash.

Related Players: Robert Tonyan

Chicago locks in Kmet, who has become a favorite target of QB Justin Fields. This quells any consternation about veteran TE Tonyan taking a ton of snaps away from him in 2023, but that still doesn't make Kmet a reliable fantasy option, as he had three or fewer receptions in 10/17 games last season despite having a career year with a 50-544-7 line. Kmet was among the most "over-performing" touchdown scorer last season, and we're projecting him for much less this season. He will be a streaming option in plus matchups yet he is going off boards as an overpay at the TE10.

Though Khalil Herbert is taking first-team reps during OTAs, the competition for the RB1 with the Bears includes D'Onta Foreman, Travis Homer, and fourth-round pick Roschon Johnson.

In the article, running backs coach David Walker was quoted as saying, “No one has earned a seat in that room yet, and they’re all going to earn their seats from what we do now until August whatever, whenever that third preseason game is,” Walker said. “So that’s the good thing and they know it. That’s been communicated to them.”

This makes the presumed "backups" more intriguing in fantasy drafts, as they are basically free at the moment. Roschon Johnson is coming off the board as the RB46 in the 13th round, while D'Onta Foreman is the RB51, in the 14th.